Method of making buttons.



F. G. NEUBERTM METHOD OF MAKING BUTTONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I5, I915- Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

" permit sa s a rnn r opinion.

V FRANKLIN e. NEUBERTI-I, or ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNGB To THE s. o. a o. 00.,

or ANSONIA, connncTrcuTgaf CORPORATION or CONNECTICUT.

METHOD OF MAKING BUTTONS.

earner.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN Gr. NED.

nmrrrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ansonia, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain Improvements in Methods of Making Buttons, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying draw- An object of the invention is to devise a method whereby buttons may be constructed of sheet metal rapidly andaccurately and, if desired, by the operation of automatic machinery. i

In one'of its important aspectsthe inven-' tion consists in a method of manufacturing a sheet metal button having an inturned portion in which is formed a series of corrugations or creasesextending in a. general radial direction, which stiffen the turned in portion. and firmly hold the eye against being pulled out of place. In .the'method herein disclosed, which illustrates one manner in which the desired results may be attained, a sheet metal blank with upstandingv points is first produced and then the points are bent inwardlyand at the same time sub-. jected to a lateral pressure which causes the material of the points to buckle and so form the desired corrugation.

In another of its aspects the invention consists in a method of producing a metal button in which the inturned portion is brought into engagement at certain places with the outer curved portion of the button thus supporting the body portion of the button against being dentedin andcon'se-.

quently rendering possible the employment of relatively thin sheet material in the construction of thebutton. ..In themethod herein disclosed the extremity of each upstanding point is carried beneath the body portion of the point and the pointas a whole is bent inwardly untilits extremity isbrought' Specification of Letters Patent. Pigtgntefl Feb, 26, 1918,

Application filed J'une15, 1915. Serial No. 34,270.

into engagement with the inner surface of the button back.

The method of the present invention is, however, in no sense limited to, the production of buttons having the characteristics above discussed and many of its novel steps may be utilized with good advantageinthe productlonof sheet metal buttons of other types.

The method of this invention may be best understood and appreciated from the followlng description of one manner in which it can be practised, in connection with apparatus selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which, i

- Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the sheet metal blank;

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the first two drawing steps performed upon the blank, to-

gether with the apparatus used in carrying 1 out these steps Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate the steps of inserting theeye and shaping the blank to hold the eye in place;

Fig. 6 illustrates the steps of flattening the underside of the button and giving it the desired shape;

-Fig. 7 is a view in perspective, partly in section, of the completed button;

Fig. 8 is: an enlarged plan view of the under side of the button; and

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

The blank as shown in Fig. 1 comprises a square piece of thin sheet metal such, for example, as annealed sheet steel. Such material may be supplied in strip form and cut without waste into blanks of appropriate as shown in Fig. 2. The female die member 12 comprises a cylindrical block having a circular opening 14: with a rounded upper edge16. The male member 10 comprises a cylindrical plunger arranged to enter the opening 1d and-beingot such diameter as to permit p partially tormedblank to lie between it and the upstanding rim or edge of the the-walls of the opening 14.- The flatblank is placed symmetrically over the opening 14 and then the die is forced downwardly carrying the blank into the opening and imparting to it a cylindrical shape as shown in Fig; 21, i p

In the second step of the method the cylindrical blank produced by the dies 10 and 12 is elongated and further reduced in diameter. This step is effected by dies such as those shown in Fig; 3 in which the female die member 22 comprises circular block having an opening 24 which, at its upper end,-isof such diameter as to receive the "blank shown in Fig. 2 but which taper-s inwardly and has a lOWBfPOltlOIl of'a unlform but reduced diameter. The male member com rises a plunger of such diameter as to fitwlthin the rednce'd'por'tion of the open- 7 ing 24*having the upstanding rinr of the V 20 blank 'between it and the Walls of the opening. the second step of the method the blank shown in Fig. 2 is'p'resented'within the enlarged portion of the opening 24 and 7 is" then forced downwardly into-the reduced portion thereof by'the action: of the die 20.

The lower end of the die 20 is convexly curved, being of such shape as to impart to "upwardly tapering pointed sections, or

the back of i the body of the button blank substantially i the shape desired in the finished button.

' It will be seen that by the first two steps of the method a cylindrical blank is formed having an upstanding peripheral rim with fpoints as they will be termed for convenience. These points it will be observed comrise the material originally included in the corners of the flat blank.

The next step of the method consists in placing in the blank a previously formedeye 34 whichis preferably of a forIri- -hav'ing ping jaws 32 and and the eye 34 is pr 'sented above the blank, in predetermined position with respect to the irregularly formed rim thereof, by a carrier 36 which comprises horizontally extending split pin. Directly above the eye isdis'posed an insertin'g't'ool 38 which is yieldingly received with in a die member 42, to be discussed hereinafter; Thetool 38 is provided in its lower surfa'cefw'vith a slot shaped to receive the upper po tion of the eye 34 and the split pin carrier 36' isjarranged' for a swinging movement downwardly to present the eye with-in thenner. By reason of the shape of the 1ower' end ofthe tool: 38, the eye 34 is" firmly" held within the blanhagainst either tilting or rotative turning movement. To permit the movement of the carrier 36 to present the eye in position the jaw 32 is provided with a slot 35, thus allowing the retention of the eye 34 upon the carrier 36 until it is grasped and firmly held in its predetermined position with respect to the points 30 by the tool 38. In presenting the eye the inserting tool 38 is moved downwardly carrying the eye into the blank, the split pin holder 36 being retracted from the eye as soon as the latter reaches the bottom of the blank. The desirability of presenting the eye 34 in a predetermined position with respect to the irregular edge of the blank will be more apparent from an inspection of Fig; 8 which shows that, in the completed buttomadjacent points 50 are bent over upon opposite sides of a laterally extending foot 37 so that one of these points overlies a curved end 41 ,.thus avoiding the difficulties which would result if a point 50 were bent over upon the top of the foot 37 and the lateral edges of adjacent points pushed out of alinement.

As already intimated the inserting tool 38 is located within a forming. die 42 and in the downward movement of these tools the blank with the contained eye is carried downwardly through the jaws 32 and 33 into a lower die member 44 as shown in Fig. 5. This die is shaped to fit the curve of the outer face of the button blank and retain it while the die 42 bends the upstanding rim and points 50 inwardly into engagement with the feet of the eye or the inside of the button back 51. In the preferred construction, alternate points are brought over the ends 41 of the feet of the eye while the remaining points'are brought into engagement with the inside of the button back upon the opposite side of the laterally extending feet 37 thereby to secure the eye in the button against removal or rotation. For this purpose the die- 42 is provided with a cylindrical portion 45 and a laterally curved annular portion 46 which first turns over the up standing points of the blank and then shapes the: inturned portion of the blank in a smooth curve as shown in Fig. 5.

In the next step of the method the partially completed button is flattened on its lower surface and to this end the blank is placed in a die member 54 which is shaped to impart the desired final form to the outer portions of the button and which coiiperates with a: die member 56 having an opening for the reception of the eye and a lower face shaped togive the desired final form and herein to flatten that portion of the button which in the completed article constitutes the under side.

It will be noted that in the operation of thedies 42 and 44, as shown in Fig. 5-, the upstanding points 50 of the cylindrical co-action of the sections and the metal of each point is caused to buckle thus forming a radially disposed crease or corrugation 66 extending from near the tip of the point to its base. These corrugations, as already pointed out, contribute greatly to increased strength of the finished button and prevent the inturned portions thereof from being bent outwardly under a strain upon the eye. In this operation also the extremity of each point 50 is bent outwardly beneath the body of the point and is pressed into engagement with the underside of the button back 51 so that it thereby simultaneously helps to secure the eye in position and acts as a reinforcement for the back.

The apparatus herein disclosed may be embodied to good advantage in a unitary machine,.such as thatshown in my co-pending application Serial No. 88,203, filed July 6, 1915, in which the material is automatically supplied and transferred from one point of operation to another, but the method of my invention may be practised independently of such machine and by other apparatus than that herein disclosed.

Having now described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. The method of making buttons which consists in forming a cylindrical blank with an upstanding rim, placing an eye within the blank, bending inwardly the upstanding rim to hold the eye in place,and simultaneously producing corrugations in the bentover rim which extend toward the center of the button.

2. The method of making buttons which consists in producing a cylindrical blank with upstanding points, bending the points downwardly and inwardly, and producing lateral pressureon the lateral edges of the points to form corrugations extendin longitudinally of the points.

I 3. The method of making buttons which consists in producing a blank having upstanding tapering points, presenting an eye to said blank, bending said points inwardly and simultaneously therewith subjecting them to lateral pressure to secure said eye in position and at the same time form a corrugation in each point, thereby to give said points added strength. against a force exerted upon the eye tending to remove the same from the button.

4. The method of making buttons which consists in producing a blank having tapered points, bending each point inwardly toward a common center, whereby the side edges of the points are brought into contact, and

thereafter continuing the bending operation to cause the edges of the points to bear against one another so as to produce in each other awlateral pressure whereby a longitudinally extending corrugation is formed in each. i

The method of making buttons which consists in producinga cylindrical blank with upstanding points, rolling the points inwardly to carry the extremity of each point beneath the body portion of the point and into engagement with the inner surface of the button back to support the back. 7

6. The method of makingbuttons which consists in producing a cylindrical blank with a circular upstanding rim having sepa rate points projecting therefrom, rolling the rim and points inwardly to carry the ex tremity of each point beneath the body of the point, and simultaneously forming a corrugation in each point which extends toward the center of the button.

7. The method of making buttons which consists in producing a blank having a cylindrical upstanding rim with projecting points and a bottom, reducing the diameter of the blank, imparting a convex shape to the bottom, then, after an eye has been presented to the blank, rolling inwardly the projecting points until the extremity of each point underlies the body of the point and bending the points as a whole until the extremity of'certain points engages the con- I cave surface of the bottom of the blank.

8. The method of making buttons which. comprises forming a blank to present an upstanding rim of irregular edge contour, presenting an eye within said blank in a predetermined relation to the irregularities presented by the rim, and bending the rim inwardly into holding engagement with the eye while said predetermined relation is maintained.

9. The method of making buttons which comprises producing a blank having a back and upstanding points, presenting an eye to the blank having laterally extending feet, bending alternate points across a portion of said feet and bending the other points into engagement with the back to secure the eye and support the back.

sta-iitially at right angles to the plane of the eye, bending certain of said points over the curved ends ofsaid feet thereby to assist in'securing the eye against removal, and bending adjacent points against the back upon the other side of said laterally extendapproximately to the inner periphery of the "back, and bending certa n of said points across said end portlons into engagement with said back thereby sin'iultaneously to secure the eye in position and reinforce the back.

13. The method of making but-tons which comprises producing a blank having a back 20 and a cylindrical upstanding rim, presenting an eye to said blank, bending said rim inwardly toward said back to secure said eye to the blank, and then shaping said button by pressure exerted upon the back and upon the inturned portion surrounding the eye,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

FRANKLIN G. NEUBERTH.

domes of this petentmay'be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

I Washington, D. C. 

